Survey Shows Parents Don’t Have Enough Time to Play with Their Kids

Mario Party Star Rush for Nintendo 3DS Can Help, With Instant,
Fast-Paced Multiplayer Fun for Everyone

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Trying to balance work and home life can be difficult, and many parents
say they don’t have enough time to spend with their kids. According to a
survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Nintendo*, parents tell their
children they are too busy to play with them an average of eight
times a week, with almost half of parents (48 percent) saying
they spend more time commuting to work than playing with their kids. But
simple things like playing a quick video game as a family, which tops
the list of activities that kids enjoy most (33 percent), can be
easy and fun.

Now families can play as iconic characters like Mario, Luigi and Peach
in Mario
Party Star Rush, a fast-paced, portable multiplayer game that is
now available for the Nintendo
3DS family of systems. Mario Party Star Rush offers something
for everyone and can be played for as long or as little as families have
time for. The engaging and colorful game launched on the same day as
seven new amiibo
figures in the Super Mario series, which are sold separately and can be
used to expand the fun.

“Between busy school and work lives, quality family time is becoming
more and more limited,” said Meredith Sinclair, a lifestyle expert in
play and family time. “What’s so great about Mario Party Star Rush
is its ability to bring families together to play something that
everyone will enjoy. Families will be making an effort to schedule more
game nights and to find time to play together.”

More than half of parents (52 percent) frequently avoid playing
family games because it’s too stressful to find one game that everyone
wants to play. Other challenges include kids getting too bored (36
percent) or arguing whose turn it is (31 percent). All of
these pitfalls can potentially be avoided when playing Mario Party
Star Rush. In Mario Party Star Rush, players take turns
simultaneously, blazing through mini-games, roaming game boards, rolling
dice and teaming up with Mario, Peach and other fan-favorite characters
to face down bosses. There’s no time to be bored! Mario Party Star
Rush is packed with seven different fun modes, so everyone,
regardless of their gaming skills and interests, will have a blast.

Kids and their parents who have fond memories of Nintendo characters
will love the new Super Mario series amiibo figures that launched on the
same day as the game and are sold separately. These figures include the
debut of Daisy, Waluigi and Boo (who actually glows in the dark!), as
well as new poses for Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Rosalina and Wario. By
tapping a compatible amiibo to the New Nintendo 3DS XL system (or to a
Nintendo 2DS, Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL system using the Nintendo
3DS NFC Reader/Writer accessory), players can gain teammates, gain items
or enjoy other featureswhile playing in different modes.

When only one person owns that game, up to three other players can
connect to try out a limited number of multiplayer modes. Additionally,
anyone who doesn’t yet own the game can download the free Mario
Party Star Rush – Party Guest Edition software available
exclusively in Nintendo eShop. Up to three players can then connect with
a player that owns the full game so all four players can participate in
the full multiplayer experience together. That makes playing together as
a family easier than ever!

Mario Party Star Rush is now available in stores, in Nintendo
eShop and on Nintendo’s
online holiday gift guide at a suggested retail price of $39.99. The
new Super Mario amiibo figures are also available in stores at a
suggested retail price of $12.99 each.

For more information about Mario Party Star Rush, visit http://marioparty.nintendo.com/.
For more survey results covering family dynamics relating to video
games, travel and free time, among others, please contact Michelle
Mandara at 212-373-6051 or mmandara@golin.com.

*The survey was conducted by Wakefield
Research among 1,000 U.S. parents of children ages 4-12, between
Oct. 21 and Oct. 25, using an email invitation and an online survey. The
margin of error is +/- 3.1.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of
interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan,
manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™
and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and
Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when
it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has
sold more than 4.4 billion video games and more than 696 million
hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U,
Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™,
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi
XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo
GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons
that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™,
Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and
Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America
Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s
operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about
Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

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